The Wounds Of Time
by RandomPonyWriter
Summary: George and Luna connect during her fifth year, and George leave Hogwarts very much in love with her, What will happen when Luna and George meet again after the war, after all seems lost? Is their love strong enough to heal the wounds of time?
1. Chapter 1

**So I was writing my other fanfic, and this George/Luna one came to mind. Just to clear up any confusion, the first part takes place in fifth year, and the second half of the chapter happens shortly after the battle at Hogwarts and it will continue on from there. I don't quite know how good this story will be so please let me know if you would like me to continue. **

**So, please read and review, or you'll meet the same end as poor Fred : ( No really, Please do review.**

**I do not own Harry Potter obviously. I am just borrowing her characters : P**

"For the last time, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks do NOT exist!" A Ravenclaw boy was standing over a petite girl, whose long blond hair flowed all the way down her back, her pale, porcelain skin delicate, as though she would break at the slightest touch.

The statement caused a look of defeat - a look that was entirely foreign to Luna Lovegood - to take up residence on her face. The defeat was brief and fleeting, but was there long enough for George Weasley to notice, before the dreaminess came back into her eyes, and the calm, slightly blank quality came back to her features.

Luna spoke in her unusually soft and dreamy voice. "We can hardly know what is real and what is not, for sure," she told him, a faraway look in her eyes, "I rather choose to believe."

The Ravenclaw looked at her and shook his head, a look of disgust crossing his face. "You should have been sorted into Hufflepuff," he told her, sneering, "You're about as stupid as one."

In typical Luna style, she chose to defend, not herself, but the Hufflepuffs. "Stupidity has nothing to do with being a Hufflepuff." she asked him and then looked at him, "No matter, You probably have an infestation of Wrackspurts or Nargles that is distracting your thinking processes. You should get that checked out, you know."

Across the hallway George Weasley shook his head at the way Luna seemed completely unable to defend herself and turned to Fred. "I think it's time we stepped in over there don't you think?" he said, keeping one eye on Luna and the Ravenclaw boy, whose name he did not know.

Fred was confused. He had been thinking about other things, like the DA, and Luna Lovegood was hardly of any concern to him. He looked at George and reached up to knock on his head with his knuckles. "Hello George? What is wrong with you? That's Loony Lovegood over there."

George frowned at him, and Fred was completely confused at Georges behaviour. "Since when did you care about what other people say Fred?" He asked his brother. Really, since when did Fred judge people by what other people thought of them?

Fred sighed and let out a breath. "Well, alright. I don't know why you are bothered about this though. She's only talking to her boyfriend."

George almost choked on the breath he was taking and coughed. "What?" he exclaimed, unable to believe his ears. How could any guy treat his girlfriend this way? "What do you mean by '_boyfriend_'" he asked forcefully.

Fred frowned, wondering in his own head about George's sanity, and exactly how intact it was. He knew his twin well enough to know that he wouldn't back down from whatever was on his mind now. "Exactly what I said. Loony and the Ravenclaw kid are dating," he rolled his eyes at the way George now seemed frozen to the spot, "Come on."

He touched George's arm and led him to where Luna and her boyfriend were still standing, locked in fierce conversation that was really only fierce on one side, because Luna was replying with vague answers that hardly made any sense.

The boy threw his arms up in the air in frustration as they approached. "I'm so sick of you Loony!" he said, his voice high and loud, "Why can't you just be normal? Or sane at least?"

"I'm sane, I just-" Luna started to speak, but by this time an enraged George had reached the two, Fred following close at his elbow.

"Excuse me mate," George said loudly, "What did you just call her?"

The Ravenclaw looked at George, a smirk on his face. "And who are you?" the Ravenclaw sneered, "Oh wait- Red hair, Freckles… A Weasley I'd bet."

"His name is George," Fred cut in, glaring daggers at the guy.

"And her name is Luna," George said forcefully. He couldn't understand why Luna just let him call her 'Loony' and why she let him walk all over her.

Fred smirked, "And there is nothing wrong with being a Weasley," he added.

Luna was looking towards Fred and George, her eyes alight with a curious burn. No-one had ever stuck up for her before - apart from Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny. Despite them, no-one had ever stood up for her quite like this. George was literally edging his way in between Luna and the Ravenclaw that he still didn't know the name of and didn't intend to find out. His body hid Luna protectively and Luna peered out from around him, catching George's eye as he looked down at her.

Catching her eye distracted George. He didn't know what it was about her that drew him in. Maybe it was because she was so small and got picked on so much, or maybe it was because she was so unique, so beautiful.

Wait- did he just use the word _beautiful_ to describe Luna Lovegood? It was true that it was how he saw her. He doubted that anyone could deny that she was pretty. He groaned inwardly because in his own mind he could see where this was going; the sudden protectiveness, the use of adjectives such as 'beautiful', the odd jealous feeling that he didn't quite recognise until now…

He shook his head and looked away from her trying to push away the feelings he held for her. It was just a crush - he'd get over it. He didn't quite know how it had started, but he had a feeling it had something to do with watching her in the DA meetings. Something about the way she was so independent, and the way she believed in slightly crazy things like the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, and despite being pushed down about it, she carried on with her own unique way. He had watched her enough to be able to tell that she was actually quite sane. She was intelligent, funny and witty. She saw things about people that they couldn't see themselves, and often surprised everyone with her wisdom and honesty.

Maybe that was why people rejected Luna; because she gave everything a chance. She believed in a lot of things - ridiculous things - but until they were disproved, she could not be persuaded otherwise. She was shockingly honest and it put people on their toes, because it made them uncomfortable to feel so transparent. She knew how to treat people with respect when it was needed, and usually when it wasn't deserved. She trusted too easily, until the person proved themselves unworthy. She believed in second chances.

He tried to clear his head, sneering at the Ravenclaw boy. "Leave her alone," he snarled.

The Ravenclaw glared at him. He clearly wasn't going to put up a fight over Luna. "Fine! It's over Loony," he yelled at Luna, "Don't ever try to talk to me again!"

The boy spun on his heel and marched away from them, and George glared after him until Fred punched him lightly in the arm, holding out something on the palm of his hand. George grinned at him.

Perfect.

In Fred's hand was one of the twins inventions; a stink bomb that crawled inside a persons clothes before it exploded. He sniggered into the back of his hand as he took it from Fred. Drawing his arm back he pitched it towards the Ravenclaw boy who was still walking away with his back turned.

He heard the sound of soft laughter from behind him, and he turned to where Luna stood. There were a few tears trailing down her cheeks, and George realised that he'd never seen Luna cry, and had never thought that he would. She was usually so strong, and so disconnected that she never seemed to let the pain get to her.

Yes, she was crying and yet she was laughing at the same time, not bothering to wipe the few tears from her face. George smiled at her, and reached out to wipe them for her. "You're crying," he told her, stating the obvious.

Luna smiled at him. "I'm not crying," she told him, "I think a Wrackspurt just flew into my eyes," she told him, sounded utterly convinced.

George smiled, wondering why that comment - that very peculiar comment - did nothing to put him off. "Well, either way-" he said, trailing off at the end and then adding, "I'm here if you need to talk."

Luna smiled at him, shifting her weight to her other foot. "Thankyou George," she told him in her feather light voice, and he fought a shiver as he heard his name on her tongue, "That's very kind of you."

"I suppose, but I do mean it Luna," he told her. He was about to say something else, probably along the lines of inviting her to Hogsmeade with him, but luckily there was a bang from the direction of the Ravenclaw boy and it distracted him from saying anything too embarrassing.

The stink bomb had exploded after crawling inside the boy's robes. Luna, George and Fred all burst into laughter as students began to run around, pinching their noses, avoiding the boy like he had the plague. In the middle of his laughter he felt a soft, slightly cold hand on his arm and he turned to Luna.

"Thankyou George," she said, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the cheek before turning and skipping away towards the great hall. He watched her leave, her long hair swishing from side to side as she continued in her unusual gait towards the hall. His cheek burned where she had kissed him, but he tried to convince himself that she only meant it as friends. She was just thanking him, that's all.

He tried not to get worked up about it, but now that he knew that he liked her, the feelings were extremely hard to push away. He didn't even know why he liked her so much. It wasn't as though they'd spent a lot of time together in the past, but something about Luna just felt so right. He knew that there was no going back on his feelings now, but he would keep them quiet for as long as he could, seeking friendship because he craved her company, but couldn't stand to let himself become to close, and then having to leave her at the end of the year to start a life without her.

Luna hummed as she skipped into the great hall, her lips still tingling where they had connected with George's skin. She hadn't been able to stay and see his reaction, because surely he only wanted to be friends. The truth was that Luna had been watching him for while now, and admired his sense of humour, the way he always stuck up for what was right, and was always eager and determined to help out, no matter the cost.

From that night onwards Luna and George knew that they liked each other, but both thought that the other did not like them back. George thought that Luna could never like him the way he liked her, and Luna thought the same about him. They sought each others company when they could, growing closer, until the incident with Umbridge, when George left suddenly, unable to tell Luna goodbye properly, the way he really wanted to.

-GEORGEWEASLEY&LUNALOVEGOOD-

Two years later

George trudged along the street of Diagon Alley wearily, pausing every now and then to push his hair from his eyes. The smile that usually occupied his lively face was gone, replaced with a permanent frown. There was no reason for him to smile anymore, with Fred gone. There was no reason to crack a joke, and there was no reason even to speak, because it just wasn't the same without Fred to finish his sentences.

In his mind he saw the face of the girl that plagued his dreams, the one he had once loved. He saw her face for a moment, and then she was gone, because he couldn't love her anymore, with half of him dead. He pressed a hand to the side of his head, where his ear should have been, but wasn't. It seemed like such a small price to pay compared to Fred's life. He wished that he could have taken Fred's place; that he could be the one lying still and cold under the earth.

George shook his head. He couldn't think about that, because it made him feel less like keeping on going and more like giving up. It made him falter in every step he took towards the joke shop he and Fred had built together.

_Together_.

For the first time since the battle at Hogwarts, George was going back to try and face it, even though he didn't think he could. He would only stand outside looking through the window as memories too painful to comprehend forced him away.

He wished for the only one left who could make things any better, but she must hate him now, for he had left her two years ago, without a goodbye. Even if she didn't hate him, he couldn't bring her down with him, because he was clinging on to nothing; holding onto the ghost of a person he would never see again.

Feeling depressed, he turned from the direction of his joke shop and walked in another direction, a slightly darker one, not caring what he met there. He recognised the dark alley that he entered as Knockturn Alley, and he didn't even care that he had wandered here. It was dark, and it suited him since he had lost his twin. He didn't want to see the light anymore. It hurt to much without Fred.

As he wandered down the darkening alley, looking towards the evening sky that was quickly turning to night he looked at the windows of the shops of dark wizards, wizards that would never return and he kicked a wall in frustration. It was because of the dark wizards that he was without Fred now.

An unnatural chill started to seep through the winding alley, and George looked around him for the source. It felt like dementors, but there was no happiness in him for them to suck out. The cold filled his entire body and as he stopped, a dementor rounded the corner. The rattling sound emanating from it was soon drowned out by the sound of screaming as, in his head, George saw Fred fall dead again and again. He was reliving Fred's death again and again, and his thoughts were flickering back to losing his ear, not knowing what Fred had faced back then either. He struggled to reach his wand, not realizing that it was he who was screaming and wondering where it was coming from.

He finally reached his wand, but he could not think of anything happy enough to conjure a patronus. He thought of Luna's face, the last time he had seen her happy. In his mind, her face was radiant, and he felt happier than he had in weeks, but still not enough to call himself happy. Two more dementors rounded the corner and the image of Luna's face was sucked from his mind, replaced with images of a dead Luna, laying beside Fred. Without realizing he began to scream her name, too lost to find his wand or conjure a Patronus.

The dementors were almost upon him and his wand slipped out of his hand, making a dull clunk as it landed on the cold pavement as he did. He sank to his knees, burying his face in his hands, still screaming for Luna and Fred, unable to gather the strength for anything else. In his minds eye, he could see them both dead, and the idea tortured him.

Luna was walking through Diagon Alley, close to the turnoff for Knockturn alley when she heard screaming - screams that sounded terribly familiar, because she heard them every night in her dreams. She turned towards Knockturn Alley and she could feel a chill seeping from the entrance.

Dementors.

She pulled out her wand in the dark and muttered, "_Lumos_." The light paved the way for her, throwing shadows everywhere. Her heart stopped as the screaming became clearer and she could hear the words. It was her name, and Fred's.

She took a deep shaking breath. It was George down there, and he was in trouble. She started to run down the dark alley, stumbling on objects that she couldn't see, her hands grabbing for the walls, for any purchase, that could guide her and lead her forwards.

As she skidded to a halt in the middle of Knockturn alley, trying to fend of the cold and the unhappiness; the memories of the Malfoy's cellar and Ollivander, she saw him in the light of her wand. He had fallen silent as a dementor leant over him, trying to steal his soul.

She thought desperately of a happy memory, settling on the day she had really _met_ George. He had stood up for her, when her first boyfriend had turned her down. She focused on the memory, the way she had felt when George had looked at her with the sparkle in his eyes that she had loved so much.

"Expecto Patronum!" she yelled, her voice weak and wavering, but strong enough. The patronus she created drove the three dementors away, and she threw herself towards George, hoping desperately that she hadn't been too late.

George was muttering senselessly, but as Luna leaned towards him she could hear her name among the jumbled words. She took his hand, and it felt cold in hers. The dark was unforgiving, and the stars did not shine above them.

"Merlin…" she muttered, hoping against hope that he would be ok, "George. It's me, Luna. I'm here George," she whispered urgently to him, desperate for him to regain consciousness.

Through the haze that fogged his head, he could hear a familiar voice, and it was leading him back. He knew who it was, but he couldn't quite remember… Luna? Where was she? Fred? What had happened? He prayed that it was all just a bad dream. That he'd wake up and everyone would be ok. Somehow he knew that it was hopeless. He knew that Fred would be gone when he opened his eyes, and he had to be imagining Luna's sweet voice, and the warmth of the two small hands pressed over his.

He whispered her name, trying to make sense of the darkness. He was afraid that the words weren't forming like they were meant to, and he tried to remember her face. The image he conjured gave him the strength to open his eyes at last to find her leaning over him, her face a mask of worry, sadness and defeat.

She was so unlike the carefree Luna of two years ago. She was paler than she usually was, and she had circles under her eyes. Her eyes were clearer than he had ever seen them and her sweet voice had lost a little of it's dreamy quality, as though the war had caught up with her at last.

He summoned the strength to lift a hand to her face and held his hand against her cheek. "Luna?" he asked more clearly. She nodded and the tears started to fall rapidly over his hand, dripping on his chest as she leaned over him. It was the second time that he had seen her cry, ever. He felt broken, knowing that the world had finally broken his Luna. It wasn't fair that people like her had to suffer. He knew vaguely of her losses. Her father was dead; he hadn't made it out of Azkaban, and he could see Luna in his minds eye, waiting for the man that would never come back, night after night, alone in her house. He knew hardly anything of the time she was held hostage of the Malfoy Manor, as she refused to talk of what had happened there.

He reached up with his other arm and pulled her to the floor to rest her head on his chest. "It's ok, Luna." he told her as reassuringly as he could, but he couldn't see what was ok about the situation at all. His breath came out shaky, and his chest shook with dry sobs.

Her tears soaked through his shirt as she cried against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, feeling desperately glad that she was there. She didn't seem to hate him, and he didn't want to let her go. He held onto her until they had the strength to move again.

There they stood in the middle of Knockturn Ally, quite alone, and staring into each other's eyes. George stepped forward, needing the warmth of Luna against him, and wrapped his arms around Luna with a strength he had thought had died with Fred. She closed her arms around his waist as well, and they stood there drawing strength from each other well into the night.

**So there it is; the first chapter of my second ever fanfic! **

**I hope you liked it, but I was rushed when I wrote it, so I guess we'll see : P I don't really like this chapter, but it will get better from here on out.**

**Please, please, please read and review. Tell me if you want it to continue, because otherwise, I'll abandon it.**

**Seriously, Mouldy Voldy will look tame next to the wrath of me if I don't get reviews : ) **


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is pretty short and badly written because of my writers block. It's also rushed at the end. Also, a little boring because it's just establishing a few things.**

**I've noticed a few of you favourited this and I am glad you like it, but please review as well! I didn't get many reviews and it was a bit discouraging. **

**So review or I'll be forced to write horrible poetry to force you, TOO LATE!**

**If you read this to the end,  
****You'll find a small button,  
****It says 'Review' my friend,  
****So click it when you're done : P **

**And that's the terrible poetry you'll be constantly over-exposed to if I don't get reviews. Haha : P**

"Mum, I'm home!" George Weasley's weary voice called down the hall as the door clicked shut behind him.

Molly Weasley looked up from her cooking, surprised to hear George's voice. It wasn't that there was anything unusual about someone letting their mother know that they were home, but for George lately it was something - a rather big something, because Molly hadn't heard his voice since the death of his twin.

She looked towards the door hopefully, hearing his footsteps coming towards the kitchen from the hall. Listening carefully, she thought that she could hear two pairs of footsteps. "George?" she called back, wondering who he could be with - who it was that made him find his voice again.

George's tired face appeared in the kitchen doorway as he leaned against the door frame. "Yeah mum, It's me," he told her, and in the space he left in the doorway she saw a flash of blonde hair.

"Luna?" She asked, her brow knitted in confusion. Luna had been missing for a long while now. No matter how hard they tried, Ginny and Hermione had been unable to find her after the death of her father. She had not been staying in her house, and she was nowhere to be found.

Before Luna could respond there was a shout from above her.

"Did somebody say George?" It was Percy, looking down the stairs into the hallway.

In another moment Ginny was standing behind Percy, peering down into the hall. "Did someone say Luna?"

It was no more than a few seconds before Hermione, Harry and Ron appeared behind the others. "Luna? Did someone say Luna?" they echoed.

Arthur appeared at the top of the stairs and Molly, George and Luna could hardly see him behind the others. "What's this holdup all about? I thought someone said George?" he asked, confused.

Luna stepped out from the kitchen doorway, towards the stairs and peered up at the others. "You are all crowding the top of the stairway you know," Everyone at the top of the stairs waited for her to make a comment stating that some outrageous creature would form in the clutter but she merely averted her eyes with a small smile, "Yes. It is me."

It was Percy and Ron that recovered first and they bounded down the steps, taking them two at a time.

"Howdy Luna!" Ron said enthusiastically as he passed her on his way to George. Percy and Ron skidded to a stop in front of George.

"Georgie mate! Did you actually say something for once?" Percy asked, clapping George forcefully on the shoulder. George had barely spoken since the end of the war; it had been months.

Ron pounded his fist into George's back. "Yeah mate. We thought that we could hear your voice, but then we remembered that Mouldy took your voice box with him to the grave."

Percy grinned. "We were forced to come to the conclusion that the war was back on, and that Mouldy had risen from the dead."

"We were gonna come down with our wands out, but then we figured we could take Mouldy on with our bare fists."

George glared at his two brothers, not seeing the intended humour behind their words; strange for someone who spent most of his life finding the unintended humour in everything. Beside him Luna laughed softly, and it was the most carefree sound she had emitted since the end of the war.

Georges expression softened as he heard her soft laughter. His brothers turned from him to Luna. "Sorry Luna, old pal," Ron exclaimed, "How're the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

Luna simply smiled and shrugged at him and Percy turned to her, "Nargle got your tongue Luna?" he asked her cheerfully.

"I suspect it must be so," Luna told him, glancing at George and seeing the frown on his face.

Ginny and Hermione had appeared at the bottom of the stairs in an enthusiastic flash of red and brown hair, screeching and squealing in their excitement at seeing Luna again.

"LUNA! Where have you been?" Ginny asked loudly, the excitement in her voice hardly contained and the ecstatic relief etched into her lively features.

"We looked everywhere but you disappeared!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her arms around Luna.

"You didn't even write!" Ginny said indignantly, "We were so worried!"

"And Luna, It's been months," Hermione said, pulling away, her eyes swimming with tears, "We- We missed you."

Both girls were nodding fervently as Harry made his way to the foot of the stairs, looking amused at the girls' antics. "Hey Luna," he said quietly, smiling at her, "How are you?"

Luna turned her gaze to him, smiling kindly. "Hello Ginny, Hermione, Harry," she said softly, "You didn't need to worry over me, I was simply experiencing a state of self-inflicted brain fuzziness."

Everyone around her raised an eyebrow at her, looking slightly puzzled - it was Luna after all though - and so she laughed softly, "I wasn't thinking straight," she translated.

Ron clapped her on the back eagerly, "That's alright mate!" he said, "You're back now and that's what counts."

The others nodded their agreement and approval as Molly stepped forward enveloping Luna in a motherly embrace, " You're much, much too thin dear," she said worriedly, "You must stay for tea!"

Luna shook her head, "Oh no Mrs Weasley," she said, "I don't want to be a burden."

"It's Molly, dear," she smiled kindly, "And if it was a bother I'd hardly have asked."

Ginny jumped in between her mother and Luna, throwing her arms around the girl, "Do stay for tea Luna!" she said, "And you can stay the night too. Hermione and I have missed you and we aren't going to let you go so soon."

Hermione vehemently nodded in agreement and Luna looked up helplessly into the worried, eager faces surrounding her before her eyes locked with George's. In them she found a look so intense that it made her feel like she was riding a broomstick. He nodded slightly at her, warmth flickering from the depth of his eyes and so she reluctantly broke their gaze, turning back to Molly.

"So long as it is not an inconvenience," Luna informed her, 'I will stay for dinner because I have missed your company." She started to hum a tune under her breath as Molly enveloped her in yet another hug.

Molly pulled away, immediately busying herself, muttering away, "Yes, way too thin… Looks like a harsh enough look could break her in half.. Wonder if she's eaten anything today? Much too pale.. Too thin, I'll cook extra I think…"

Harry rolled his eyes as molly hurried off towards the kitchens, "Molly will be Molly," he said with a hint of admiration in his tone. Turning to Ron and Percy he grinned, "Fancy a game of quidditch before tea?"

"Sure!" They said as one, hurrying to get their brooms, Harry dragging George along with the excuse of uneven numbers. The thing was, that George hadn't played Quidditch since Fred's death and he still wasn't sure. However, when Luna turned to him and told him that she would watch him, he found himself agreeing and though he didn't know exactly why, he had a fleeting suspicion that it had something to do with the silvery blue colour of her eyes, clear, captivating and persuasive.

-GEORGEWEASLEY&&LUNALOVEGOOD-

Dinner passed peacefully; a lively and yet a quiet affair amidst a warm and happy atmosphere. The food was - as always when Molly was cooking - delicious and Luna relished the taste and feel of good food compared to the taste of the small meals she had only occasionally eaten while she had been away. Where her appetite had been almost non-existent before, it now seemed that she couldn't get enough of Moll's food. She ate and ate until she was full, under Molly's approving, watching eyes.

She didn't join in the conversation much, but watched instead with an amused glint in her eye. She observed with careful scrutiny whilst appearing to look dreamy and occupied, as was her specialty. As a result she observed the changes in the people around her, wondering if she was a drastically altered.

Ron was positively bouncing, his enthusiasm untamed and shameless. He gestured wildly with his mouth stuffed full of food at all times. He laughed a lot more than he used to and looked at Hermione was a softness that she never saw directed at anyone else. He was more vibrant and less of a shadow, having finally stopped thinking of himself as second best underneath Harry.

Luna had not know Percy well, but knew of him from Ginny. She'd seen him around; at the ministry and the school in her third year around the time of the tournament. The Percy she'd observed in the past had been strict, a little conceited and arrogant and very stiff and serious. The Percy she saw now was just as quiet but relaxed. He held himself differently and he laughed. He no longer put himself a peg or two above his brothers. He'd been humbled by the war.

Hermione was more relaxed than Luna had ever known her to be. She did not seem as concerned with studying all the time anymore, and it showed. When she looked at Ron, Luna could see the same tenderness in her eyes that she saw in his. The worry had gone from deep inside Hermione's eyes. She looked as though a burden had been lifted from her; like no-one was relying on her to be the know-it-all anymore..

Ginny was happier than Luna had ever seen her. The happiness was unforced and seemed to emanate from her, infectious to those around her. The life in her eyes cause her skin to radiate happiness in a soft glow. She wore her heart on her sleeve, expressing her emotions now without hesitation. She was no longer restrained around Harry, and her love for him was one of the emotions she didn't bother to hide.

Molly and Arthur were the least drastically changed. Though they looked older than they had, and more worn they remained cheerful and unchanged. Arthur was more cheerful and the worry deep in his eyes that had been apparent last time Luna had seen him had vanished.

George had changed the most. Where he had once been vibrant and full of life he was now quiet and serious. Where she would once have found him laughing at every opportunity, she couldn't even imagine it now. The vivacious and energetic prankster she had once known was buried deep inside of him with his pain. His eyes were listless, except when he looked at her; when he did she could see a flickering warmth. He watched everyone talk like she did, not speaking often.

Luna knew that she herself had changed but she didn't know how much anyone noticed. She had a feeling though, that George noticed more than anyone else and she was equally as sure that Ginny and Hermione would start to interrogate her as soon as they were alone. She didn't want to face the questions that she knew were coming, but at the same time, she was grateful that they had not bombarded her with questions over dinner. Luna was an honest person; she would not deny Ginny and Hermione the answers they sought no matter how much she wished they would not ask.

Dinner passed all too quickly and Luna soon found herself being dragged up the staircase by Ginny and Hermione as they pulled her to the room Hermione and Ginny stayed in together. Hermione didn't live there, but she stayed often. With a wave of her wand Hermione conjured a third bed to stand between the two already in the room, dragging Luna in and shutting the door.

"Where have you been?" The two girls chorused as soon as the door sounded shut.

And just like that, the interrogation had begun.

**Sorry for the short chapter and the long time between updates. I've got writers block really, really badly.**

**I'm also too lazy to edit it, so hopefully the mistakes aren't too huge!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heaps heaps heaps sorry for the long time between updates. **

**Hope this chapter makes up for it : ) **

**Please please please review : ) PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE?**

**And enjoy : )**

**PREVIOUSLY**

"_Where have you been?" The two girls chorused as soon as the door sounded shut._

_And just like that, the interrogation had begun._

-GEORGEWEASLEY&&LUNALOVEGOOD-

Luna looked from Ginny to Hermione and sighed. Their faces were eager and expectant and she sighed, moving towards the bed Hermione had just conjured. Patting the soft quilt cover she sat down, crossing her legs.

Their eyes followed her as she moved to her bed and sat down. They waited for her to look at them again and when she did they paused for a moment. There was a sadness there that they had never seen before in her eyes. Luna had been through a great many things; witnessing her own mothers death at a young age, bullying and ridicule at Hogwarts and the war to say the least. Even when she had been locked up in Malfoy Manor for so long - tortured, starved and beaten - her eyes had not betrayed this much sadness.

She patted the bed on either side of her, motioning for them to sit with her. The obliged, moving towards the bed and settling on either side of her. She didn't speak and neither did they and for several moments there was absoloute silence.

Ginny was exchanging a nervous glance with Hermione when Luna began to speak. Where on earth could she have been that would justify taking this long to tell them?

"I was searching," Luna finally said, her voice light, but lacking the dreamy quality it usually possessed. She no longer sounded like the Luna that walked around informing people that there was probably a number of Wrackspurts attacking them, causing their brains to fuzz. Neither was she the girl who skipped cheerfully around the castle without her shoes, humming lightly to herself - no doubt to repel the Nargles. The Luna they saw now didn't seem concerned by any of those things, but rather preferred not to speak at all.

Ginny frowned. "For Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?" she asked, wondering what on earth Luna could have been searching for all this time.

Luna looked up at her and raised her eyebrows. "Not really. Not at first, anyway," she said. She shook her head and spoke softly, "I don't know what I was really looking for."

"Your father?" Hermione questioned. It was well-known that Luna's father had disappeared during the war. They did not know if he was even still alive.

Luna nodded, staring at her hands. "I would have liked to believe that he would come back for me if he was alive," she said in a gentle voice, "but I searched anyway."

Ginny nodded, "Your house-" she started.

Luna shook her head, "I went there first. I've seen it," she told her, "He wasn't there."

Hermione nodded wisely, "The damage was caused by me. I'm sorry it was an Erumpent horn that your dad set off and-"

Luna shook her head, "That was the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," she told them stubbornly and for a moment she sounded like the old Luna.

"Luna-" Ginny started, but was cut off.

"Don't say it Ginny," Luna said miserably, "Just let me keep believing."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but Ginny gave her a warning look behind Luna's back. She sighed, and spoke. "So all this time, you were searching for him?" she asked Luna.

"Most of the time," Luna confirmed, "By the end, I wasn't sure what I was looking for anymore."

There was silence while all three girls tried to wrap their heads around Luna's confession.

Hermione broke the silence, "He loved you, you know," she told Luna sadly.

Luna nodded, as though she didn't quite believe it, "I want to believe that Hermione, but he didn't come back. He's gone and we can't find a trace of him."

Ginny sighed, "I hate to be insensitive Luna, but he's probably dead."

Luna shook her head, "He's not-"

Hermione put a hand on her shoulder, "Luna, he most likely is," she said gently, "Why else would he not come back?"

Luna shook her head again, "He might not have heard the war was over," she said, "Or, he might have just decided to start fresh somewhere else. He might even have thought that I was dead."

Ginny shook her head at Luna, "Luna, the end of the war was the most celebrated time since Harry lived through Voldemort's first attempt to kill him," she said, "I doubt that he would not have heard."

Hermione sighed, "Luna, he did love you," she said, "The time we saw you after you'd been held captive, we told you what happened, and all he wanted was to have you back. He couldn't stand to lose you. You were everything to him."

Hermione remembered Mr Lovegood and the haunted look in his eyes as he spoke of Luna.

"_They took my Luna," he whispered. "Because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back if I - if I -"_

"_Hand over Harry?" Hermione finished for him._

"_No deal," said Ron flatly. "Get out of the way, we're leaving."_

_Xenophilius looked ghastly, a century old, his lips drawn back into a dreadful leer._

"_They will be here at any moment. I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave"_

Hermione had tears in her eyes, "He would have done anything for you Luna," she said, "He would have given everything to save you, even if it meant losing everything."

Luna met Hermione's teary gaze, feeling the tears in her own eyes. For the first time in years she cried, tears sliding down her face and dropping onto the bed in front of her, "In the end, it probably did mean that," Luna said miserably, "It was my fault."

Ginny protested, "None of us could have seen that coming. They took you off the Hogwarts Express. You couldn't have not boarded that train."

"I suppose," Luna said, hanging her head, "But I still wish things could have been different."

-GEORGEWEASLEY&&LUNALOVEGOOD-

"Pssst, Luna," George whispered, "Do you have a moment?" He was looking out his door at Luna who was walking down the hall. It was late at night and she looked like she hadn't slept at all. He was surprised to see her alone in the hall as no-one had left her side since she had arrived. He could tell that the constant company made her tired.

"I was just headed up to the roof," she told him, her voice quiet and bearing the dream-like quality of the pre-war Luna.

George grinned at her. "How did you get away?" he asked her, humour lining his voice, "I thought I'd never see you again after they got to you."

Luna shrugged. "I suppose they can't lock me in while they are sleeping," she said quietly. "Why aren't you sleeping George?"

George tried to suppress the feelings that were attempting to surface at the sound of his name on her lips. "I could ask you the same question," he told her.

"Like I said, I was headed up to the roof," she told him, "Were you headed the same way?"

George smiled. "I wasn't," he said, "But I am now."

Luna smiled at him and responded in her light voice. "You are welcome to join me if you wish," she told him. She didn't mind George joining her even when she had originally planned to be alone. Somehow, being with George was better than being alone. Luna was so used to solitude; she'd had no real friends for most of her schooling, not until Harry anyway, and so she was perfectly fine with being alone.

"Only if you don't mind," George said sincerely, not wishing to impose upon what may have been a brief moment of solitude for Luna before she was subjected to the attentions of his family in the morning. "I don't want to disturb you."

"Oh no George," she told him, "I feel more than comfortable in your presence." She meant it. She often felt small in group situations. Luna was a listener. She spoke when she has something to say but often got more out of a conversation just by listening and observing. As a result, people often forgot about her and tended to treat her like she was in the background. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable in those situations but more that she felt that she couldn't adequately express herself. With George it was different. He listened to her and encouraged her to speak more than others did. Even Harry and the others never seemed to really care enough to listen to her talk. Being so good at reading body language and listening to the true meaning behind people's words, Luna was an expert at reading people and she knew that people were often uncomfortable in her presence because she often seemed to know too much.

"Good," George said, grinning, "because I also find your company _comfortable_."

Luna smiled, completely missing the emphasis George put on the word _comfortable, _and turned in the direction of the roof. They walked in an easy silence to the end of the hallway, where they stopped. Luna pulled out her wand and tapped the roof, looking up.

"_Traporus_," she whispered and as she did, a square compartment slowly opened up in the roof, materializing in front of their eyes. Once the square had formed fully, a brass handle appeared and Luna reached up to pull it down, revealing a ladder that looked rickety and somewhat dangerous, like it had certainly seen better days.

Turning around, Luna noted that the expression on Georges face had hardly changed. He gestured for her to climb up first and blushing, she put a foot on the first rung of the ladder. It creaked a little under her weight but held her and so she climbed slowly up to the top where the compartment led up to the top of the roof.

Luna sighed as she climbed out into the fresh air and scooted along the roof a little to make room for George. He climbed out next to her and looked around in wonder. In all the time he'd lived at the Burrow, he'd never ventured all the way up to the roof and he immediately regretted it. He could see why Luna would come here to think. The sky was beautiful; dark, with stars sprinkled across it, breaking the darkness in a stark contrast. It seemed that the stars had never before shone brighter, or maybe it was the way George was looking at them.

The silence was comfortable, not as awkward as it might have been had it been anyone else that George was sitting with and Luna was completely at home underneath the stars. He broke the silence anyway.

"I've never heard of the spell you used to create that passageway to the roof," he said to Luna, "Where did you learn it?"

Luna smiled serenely. "I didn't learn it," she told him.

George cocked his head to the side and smiled, confused. "You didn't learn it?" he asked her curiously before realisation dawned. "Oh, you… You created it?"

Luna just smiled and stared at the stars and, despite the question that remained unanswered between them, the silence was comfortable.

George spared no glance for the stars that twinkled above them, instead gazing at Luna in awe, admiring everything about her. Her beauty, her cleverness, her tenacity and her strength.

It was clear that she neither needed nor wanted recognition or praise for her spell and this was something George loved about her; her modesty, the way she gave more than she ever took, never asking for anything in return for anything she did.

And even though he knew this, George still felt the need to praise her for her efforts.

"That spell was really clever Luna," he told her, catching her eye as she turned to him in surprise.

She eyed him seriously for a moment before looking away again. "It needs a lot of work," she said, "The ladder is much too weak."

George shook his head as he finally looked away from her. "Still…"

There was another long silence as George's last word hung in the air and eventually faded. Both were left to their own personal thoughts, staring at the same expanse of dark sky and twinkling stars, neither of them knowing that they were thinking almost the same thing.

George was wondering what had changed Luna. There was something different about her now and George found it hard to pinpoint exactly what: loss, maturity, bravery, grief, hope and something unidentifiable but tangible all the same.

Luna could tell that the loss of his twin had affected George more than he let on. She could see the grief behind his eyes when he smiled and when he laughed. She could tell that each cheerful joke now cost him more than it ever had.

Again, it was George that broke the silence between them.

"What happened to you Luna?" he asked her solemnly.

Luna shook her head at him and laughed quietly. "What happened to you George?"

"Touché," George said, grinning at her.

It seemed that silences were becoming common between the two of them, for they fell quiet again. This time, it was Luna that broke the silence.

"I went looking for my dad," Luna admitted to the air in front of her, staring at the stars still.

George mulled over what she had said for a moment. She had gone looking for her father. But it had seemed to George like common knowledge that he had died sometime during the war. Something must have convinced Luna that her father was still alive, causing her to search for him. It almost broke his heart to think of Luna looking for a man that she would never find.

"Did you think he was alive?" George asked her quietly.

"Yes," Luna admitted, "I thought that I might've been able to find him, that maybe there was hope of finding him. They never found a body you know."

"They never found a lot of bodies Luna," George told her sadly. And it was true: There had been bodies that had been lost, that had never ever been found. His heart had always gone out to the families that couldn't even be sure, that had no body to bury or to mourn over. He'd always been entirely grateful that he'd had Fred's body, no matter how hard it was to put him into the ground, no matter how much it had hurt to take a look at him one final time before burying what could have and would have been.

"I know George," she said sadly. "I just wish I had something of him left. I wish I could know for sure."

George sighed. "Luna, You've spent your whole life believing in the strangest things and your only proof was that it hadn't been disproved. Why is this so different? The Luna I once knew would have thought him stolen by nargles or something." He didn't mean it as an insult and it was true; Luna had believed crazier things with less proof.

"She's still here," Luna laughed, "That Luna is still here. I'm still me, I just… It's harder these days to believe in the impossible."

"I know," George said, and then silence fell again between them both, cutting through the clear air and speaking as loudly as words could.

"I've changed too I suppose," George said quietly after a while.

Luna smiled at him. "I think the war has changed us all at least a little," she said.

"Some more than others I suppose," George grinned, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You still miss him, I know George, and that's ok," Luna whispered, turning to George and taking one of his hands in both of hers.

George smiled at her as he felt her cold hands wrap around one of his. "I know that now," he told her and leaned towards her, caught by the intensity in her eyes. He reached with his free hand to cup her cold cheek with his warm hand and she shivered, but her eyes didn't waver from his.

Putting a little pressure into the hand that cupped her face, George leaned towards her further, and when he paused an inch from her face, her eyelashes fluttered and then closed as she waited for him. However, George was so caught up in her beauty that he could only stare at her until her eyes reopened and searched his, seeking the reason for his hesitation. She found no resistance in his awestruck eyes and so she whispered his name softly.

"George…"

He smiled and Luna moved closer, so close that she could feel it when he whispered her name back at her, before leaning forward and touching his lips to hers softly.

And when he pulled back, reaching to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, she smiled and both of them could feel a tangible change in the air.

No turning back now.

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